Farmers bring traffic to a screeching halt on Bangalore-Mysore road

A political outfit held a dharna in the middle of the Bangalore-Mysore road throwing traffic out of gear for five hours, while cops adamantly refused to get the group to move

A political outfit held a dharna in the middle of the Bangalore-Mysore road throwing traffic out of gear for
five hours, while cops adamantly refused to get the group to move.

Commuters travelling on the stretch had a harrowing experience as they were stranded for over five hours as a result of a dharna staged by a group of silk farmers, led by a representative of Jai Karnataka, Ramesh Gowda.

Commuters had to wait for hours as the farmers' protest choked traffic on the Bangalore-Mysore Road

The group started its protest at 11.30 am and scores of people gathered to support the initiative. However, the inconvenience caused to the commuters was overlooked even as traffic cops refused to get the group of protesters off the highway.

"Over 10 KSRTC and five private buses were delayed. Trucks, autos, cars and bikes were held up for five hours," said a local from the area.

Even though there were over 40 cops in the area, commuters allege that none of them helped clear the traffic situation, despite being urged by many.

"When we approached the cops, they said they couldn't touch protesting farmers. It was blatant harassment for over four hours. My family was stuck in the mess and we saw many foreigners getting off buses and walking away with their luggage," said Prakash Paul, a commuter.

Meanwhile, when questioned about the same, the cops in the area asserted that the farmers had sough prior permission to carry on their protest.

"These farmers were upset with the slide in silk rates, so they protested against the state government. Ramesh Gowda, a representative of a pro-Kannada organisation, was heading the movement.

A few vehicles were stopped and we tried to intervene, but nothing much could be done," said N Siddhappa, DySp, Chennapatna police station.